into tiny veins called venules, which in turn merge into larger and larger veins

that lead the oxygen-depleted blood back to the right atrium of the heart.

8.5

Blood Pressure

The contraction of the heart chambers is triggered by electrical pulses that

are applied simultaneously both to the left and to the right halves of the heart.

First the atria contract, forcing the blood into the ventricles; then the ventricles

contract, forcing the blood out of the heart. Because of the pumping action of

the heart, blood enters the arteries in spurts or pulses. The maximum pressure

driving the blood at the peak of the pulse is called the systolic pressure. The

lowest blood pressure between the pulses is called the diastolic pressure. In a

young healthy individual the systolic pressure is about 120 torr (mm Hg) and

the diastolic pressure is about 80 torr. Therefore the average pressure of the

pulsating blood at heart level is 100 torr.

As the blood ﬂows through the circulatory system, its initial energy, provided by the pumping action of the heart, is dissipated by two loss mechanisms: losses associated with the expansion and contraction of the arterial

walls and viscous friction associated with the blood ﬂow. Due to these energy

losses, the initial pressure ﬂuctuations are smoothed out as the blood ﬂows

away from the heart, and the average pressure drops. By the time the blood

reaches the capillaries, the ﬂow is smooth and the blood pressure is only about

30 torr. The pressure drops still lower in the veins and is close to zero just

before returning to the heart. In this ﬁnal stage of the ﬂow, the movement of

blood through the veins is aided by the contraction of muscles that squeeze

the blood toward the heart. One-way ﬂow is assured by unidirectional valves

in the veins.

The main arteries in the body have a relatively large radius. The radius

of the aorta, for example, is about 1 cm; therefore, the pressure drop along

the arteries is small. We can estimate this pressure drop using Poiseuille’s

law (Eq. 8.7). However, to solve the equation, we must know the rate of

blood ﬂow. The rate of blood ﬂow Q through the body depends on the level

of physical activity. At rest, the total ﬂow rate is about 5 liter/min. During

intense activity the ﬂow rate may rise to about 25 liter/min. Exercise 8-1

shows that at peak ﬂow the pressure drop per centimeter length of the aorta

108

FIGURE 8.5

Chapter 8 The Motion of Fluids

Blood pressure in a reclining and in an erect person.

is only 42.5 dyn/cm2 (3.19 × 10−2 torr), which is negligible compared to the

total blood pressure.

Of course, as the aorta branches, the size of the arteries decreases, resulting in an increased resistance to ﬂow. Although the blood ﬂow in the narrower arteries is also reduced, the pressure drop is no longer negligible (see

Exercise 8-2). The average pressure at the entrance to the arterioles is about

90 torr. Still, this is only a 10% drop from the average pressure at the heart.

The ﬂow through the arterioles is accompanied by a much larger pressure drop,

about 60 torr. As a result, the pressure at the capillaries is only about 30 torr.

Since the pressure drop in the main arteries is small, when the body is

horizontal, the average arterial pressure is approximately constant throughout

the body. The arterial blood pressure, which is on the average 100 torr, can

support a column of blood 129 cm high (see Eq. 7.1 and Exercise 8-3). This

means that if a small tube were introduced into the artery, the blood in it would

rise to a height of 129 cm (see Fig. 8.5).

If a person is standing erect, the blood pressure in the arteries is not uniform in the various parts of the body. The weight of the blood must be taken

into account in calculating the pressure at various locations. For example, the

average pressure in the artery located in the head, 50 cm above the heart (see

of heart beat) is regulated by a variety of hormones. Hormones are molecules,

often proteins, that are produced by organs and tissues in diﬀerent parts of

the body. They are secreted into the blood stream and carry messages from

one part of the body to another. Hormones aﬀecting the heart are produced in

response to stimuli such as need for more oxygen, changes in body temperature, and various types of emotional stress.

The ﬂow of blood to speciﬁc parts of the body is controlled by the arterioles. These small vessels that receive blood from the arteries have an average

diameter of about 0.1 mm. The walls of the arterioles contain smooth muscle

ﬁbers that contract when stimulated by nerve impulses and hormones. The contraction of the arterioles in one part of the body reduces the blood ﬂow to that

region and diverts it to another. Since the radius of the arterioles is small, constriction is an eﬀective method for controlling blood ﬂow. Poiseuille’s equation

shows that if the pressure drop remains constant, a 20% decrease in the radius

reduces the blood ﬂow by more than a factor of 2 (see Exercise 8-5).

A stress-induced heart condition called stress cardiomyopathy (broken

heart syndrome) has only recently been clearly identiﬁed by Western medicine.

The syndrome occurs most frequently after a sudden intense emotional trauma

such as death in the family, an experience of violence, or extreme anger. The

symptoms are similar to an acute heart attack, but the coronary arteries are

found to be normal and the heart tissue is not damaged. It has suggested that

the condition is triggered by an excessive release of stress-related hormones

called chatecholamines.

110

8.7

Chapter 8 The Motion of Fluids

Energetics of Blood Flow

For an individual at rest, the rate of blood ﬂow is about 5 liter/min. This

implies that the average velocity of the blood through the aorta is 26.5 cm/sec

(see Exercise 8-6). However, the blood in the aorta does not ﬂow continuously.

It moves in spurts. During the period of ﬂow, the velocity of the blood is about

three times as high as the overall average value calculated in Exercise 8-6.

Therefore, the kinetic energy per cubic centimeter of ﬂowing blood is

KE

1 2

ρv

2

1

(1.05) × (79.5)2

2

3330 erg/cm3

We mentioned earlier that energy density (energy per unit volume) and

pressure are measured by the same unit (i.e., 1 erg/cm3 1 dyn/cm2 ); therefore, they can be compared to each other. The kinetic energy of 3330 erg/cm3

is equivalent to 2.50 torr pressure; this is small compared to the blood pressure in the aorta (which is on the average 100 torr). The kinetic energy in the

smaller arteries is even less because, as the arteries branch, the overall area

increases and, therefore, the ﬂow velocity decreases. For example, when the

total ﬂow rate is 5 liter/min, the blood velocity in the capillaries is only about

0.33 mm/sec.

The kinetic energy of the blood becomes more signiﬁcant as the rate of

blood ﬂow increases. For example, if during physical activity the ﬂow rate

increases to 25 liter/min, the kinetic energy of the blood is 83,300 erg/cm3 ,

which is equivalent to a pressure of 62.5 torr. This energy is no longer negligible compared to the blood pressure measured at rest. In healthy arteries,

the increased velocity of blood ﬂow during physical activity does not present

a problem. During intense activity, the blood pressure rises to compensate for

the pressure drop.

8.8

Turbulence in the Blood

Equation 8.8 shows that if the velocity of a ﬂuid exceeds a speciﬁc critical

value, the ﬂow becomes turbulent. Through most of the circulatory system the

blood ﬂow is laminar. Only in the aorta does the ﬂow occasionally become

turbulent. Assuming a Reynold’s number of 2000, the critical velocity for the

onset of turbulence in the 2-cm-diameter aorta is, from Eq. 8.8,

Vc

η

ρD

2000 × 0.04

1.05 × 2

38 cm/sec

Section 8.9 Arteriosclerosis and Blood Flow

111

For the body at rest, the ﬂow velocity in the aorta is below this value. But as

the level of physical activity increases, the ﬂow in the aorta may exceed the

critical rate and become turbulent. In the other parts of the body, however, the

ﬂow remains laminar unless the passages are abnormally constricted.

Laminar ﬂow is quiet, but turbulent ﬂow produces noises due to vibrations

of the various surrounding tissues, which indicate abnormalities in the circulatory system. These noises, called bruit, can be detected by a stethoscope and

can help in the diagnosis of circulatory disorders.

8.9

Arteriosclerosis and Blood Flow

Arteriosclerosis is the most common of cardiovascular diseases. In the United

States, an estimated 200,000 people die annually as a consequence of this

disease. In arteriosclerosis, the arterial wall becomes thickened, and the artery

is narrowed by deposits called plaque. This condition may seriously impair

the functioning of the circulatory system. A 50% narrowing (stenosis) of the

arterial area is considered moderate. Sixty to seventy percent is considered

severe, and a narrowing above 80% is deemed critical. One problem caused

by stenosis is made clear by Bernoulli’s equation. The blood ﬂow through the

region of constriction is speeded up. If, for example, the radius of the artery

is narrowed by a factor of 3, the cross-sectional area decreases by a factor

of 9, which results in a nine-fold increase in velocity. In the constriction, the

kinetic energy increases by 92 , or 81. The increased kinetic energy is at the

expense of the blood pressure; that is, in order to maintain the ﬂow rate at

the higher velocity, the potential energy due to pressure is converted to kinetic

energy. As a result, the blood pressure in the constricted region drops. For

example, if in the unobstructed artery the ﬂow velocity is 50 cm/sec, then in

the constricted region, where the area is reduced by a factor of 9, the velocity

is 450 cm/sec. Correspondingly, the pressure is decreased by about 80 torr

(see Exercise 8-8). Because of the low pressure inside the artery, the external

pressure may actually close oﬀ the artery and block the ﬂow of blood. When

such a blockage occurs in the coronary artery, which supplies blood to the

heart muscle, the heart stops functioning.

Stenosis above 80% is considered critical because at this point the blood

ﬂow usually becomes turbulent with inherently larger energy dissipation than

is associated with laminar ﬂow. As a result, the pressure drop in the situation presented earlier is even larger than calculated using Bernoulli’s equation.

Further, turbulent ﬂow can damage the circulatory system because parts of the

ﬂow are directed toward the artery wall rather than parallel to it, as in laminar

112

Chapter 8 The Motion of Fluids

ﬂow. The blood impinging on the arterial wall may dislodge some of the

plaque deposit which downstream may clog a narrower part of the artery. If

such clogging occurs in a cervical artery, blood ﬂow to some part of the brain

is interrupted causing an ischemic stroke.

There is another problem associated with arterial plaque deposit. The

artery has a speciﬁc elasticity; therefore, it exhibits certain springlike properties. Speciﬁcally, in analogy with a spring, the artery has a natural frequency at which it can be readily set into vibrational motion. (See Chapter 5,

Eq. 5.6.) The natural frequency of a healthy artery is in the range 1 to 2 kilohertz. Deposits of plaque cause an increase in the mass of the arterial wall and

a decrease in its elasticity. As a result, the natural frequency of the artery is

signiﬁcantly decreased, often down to a few hundred hertz. Pulsating blood

ﬂow contains frequency components in the range of 450 hertz. The plaquecoated artery with its lowered natural frequency may now be set into resonant

vibrational motion, which may dislodge plaque deposits or cause further damage to the arterial wall.

8.10

Power Produced by the Heart

The energy in the ﬂowing blood is provided by the pumping action of the

heart. We will now compute the power generated by the heart to keep the

blood ﬂowing in the circulatory system.

The power PH produced by the heart is the product of the ﬂow rate Q and

the energy E per unit volume of the blood; that is,

PH

Q

cm3

sec

×E

erg

cm2

Q × E erg/sec

(8.9)

At rest, when the blood ﬂow rate is 5 liter/min, or 83.4 cm3 /sec, the kinetic

energy of the blood ﬂowing through the aorta is 3.33 × 103 erg/cm3 . (See previous section.) The energy corresponding to the systolic pressure of 120 torr

is 160 × 103 erg/cm3 . The total energy is 1.63 × 105 erg/cm3 —the sum of the

kinetic energy and the energy due to the ﬂuid pressure. Therefore, the power

P produced by the left ventricle of the heart is

P

83.4 × 1.63 × 105

1.35 × 107 erg/sec

1.35 W

Exercise 8-9 shows that during intense physical activity when the ﬂow rate

increases to 25 liters/min, the peak power output of the left ventricle increases